Which brings us to “Invincible Iron Man” #20, the beginning of the “Stark: Disassembled” arc. Marvel calls it “the darkest chapter of Tony Stark’s life — or is that afterlife” and a perfect jumping on point for new readers. I call it a good excuse to run covers and preview pages in the hopes you’ll pick up this great book and enjoy one of the best comics on the stands today. Hit the jump and click ’em for bigger views.

You already caught the Larroca cover at the start of this post. Below (left to right) is the wraparound “Invincible Iron Man” #20 cover by Patrick Zircher and the 70th anniversary variant cover by Marko Djurdjevic. Marvel will distribute the Larroca and Zircher covers at 50/50.

And here are preview pages from the issue. No dialogue provided, but as you can see Tony’s not doing so hot. The quick recap: Stark has erased the secret identities of Marvel heroes and other valuable intel from his hard drive of a brain to keep it out of the hands of the evil Norman Osborn. (The man best known as the Green Goblin has fooled the public into thinking he’s a good guy as the Iron Patriot and head of the sleazy government organization H.A.M.M.E.R.) Stark’s self-inflicted mind-wipe and subsequent battle with Osborn has left Stark in the vegetative state you see him in now.